Derby County came away with a 3-0 victory at home to Bristol City, with one player in particular standing out.
The Rams managed to clinch what was their second win of the 2024/25 Championship league season as a goal from Kenzo Goudmijn opened the scoring for the Rams.
Derby County, unlike previous games against the likes of Middlesbrough and Watford, did not sit back and defend their one-goal lead as they hit Bristol City for a second goal courtesy of summer signing Kayden Jackson.
New signings Jerry Yates and Ebou Adams featured for the Rams, as well as goal scorers Goudmijn, Jackson and scorer of the third and final goal for Derby County David Ozoh.
Many players across the field managed to perform well for Paul Warne’s side, from defence to attack, however one new signing stood out in particular in Derby County’s most recent Championship victory.
Kenzo Goudmijn proved that he will be a massively important player for Derby County
The Dutch midfielder who was signed earlier this summer managed to get off the mark with what was an absolutely brilliant finish in front of the Pride Park faithful as he struck it with conviction outside the box.
Outside of his brilliant goal that gave Derby County the lead, he played a brilliant part in dictating the play in the centre-of-the-park, and the confidence he was able to play with brought the best out of his fellow midfielders in Ozoh and Adams.
Goudmijn was given slightly more freedom as a result of Ozoh and Adams sitting slightly deeper, and this unleashed the best out of the former Eredivisie man.
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Paul Warne can get the best out of Kenzo Goudmijn at attacking-midfield
Previous games have seen Goudmijn sitting ever-so slightly deeper, which despite performing to a decent standard, has meant that he hasn’t quite been able to live up to the best of his abilities.
However the Bristol City victory for Warne’s side made it evident that the Dutchman could be utilised at his peak when playing further forward, working more in cohesion with Jackson, creating several chances in the process.
Per SofaScore, Goudmijn’s heat-map showed the 22-year-old to be running rampant throughout his appearance against Bristol City, with an emphasis on going forward and sitting outside the box, whilst also floating towards the right-side where he looked to help Jackson, who was playing as a makeshift winger.
Goudmijn’s abilities should certainly reward him with starts in the next run of Derby County fixtures in September after such an assured performance by the midfielder, and there is no doubt that Warne will continue to utilise him in the way that worked perfectly against Bristol City.